What's next?

I guess it's a question everyone who's just done a marathon is asking. Of course, there are folks like Ryan who have some work to do for Boston! Me, I'm not really following a recovery program but I've commited to this: I have nine weeks left in this calendar year. No races are so far scheduled, but maybe i'll do a resolution run on New Year's Eve, but in any case, i'm scaling down to about a 30 mile a week program for the next two months. Even so, I'm on track to log about 1,600 miles or more than 2,500 km. Wow.

Here is what is on my watch list.

Winter season: Keep base mileage at around 30 miles a week. Look ahead to two possible races in the winter, and not really run them to get PRs, but to stay in race shape and have fun running. The two races are the Tom Hortons Chilly Half Marathon on March 5. It will be freezing and the bright side is that they'll serve Chilli at the end.. Yum.. Chilli. The second race is the Around the Bay 30K in Hamilton, also known as Steeltown for the industry. The Bay is billed as the oldest road race on the continent (113th edition is on March 25) and it draws good numbers.

Spring season: This is one of my favourite periods as the weather in Toronto changes, it starts getting in the plus 5 degree (mid to high 40F) and it's time to start racing! I love the 8K Spring Runoff on April 7, which is run in beautiful and very hilly High Park and it's the site where I think I can do a major PR for that distance. Then, a month later on May 6, comes Toronto's biggest race (for a single distance), the 10K Sporting Life, which is downhill and is a fast course. As for half marathons, I have the choice of the Mississauga (half) Marathon, which is badly enough only a week after the 10K. Or, I can choose the half at the National Captial Marathon in our nation's capital in late May.

Summer season: Oh, there are a few races in June and July and I may do one or two... In any case, I won't be racing that much except for tune ups, because...

Fall season: I'll most likely be training for a fall marathon! Toronto's two dueling marathons are stupidly only two weeks apart (Sept. 30 and Oct. 14) and I seriously think that something has to give. i'm sorry to say it, but unless one of them switches to the Spring, they will forever be 'small marathons'. The other possibilities are Chicago, which I really want to do again. It falls on Oct. 7 and is right before Canadian Thanksgiving. Yikes. Then again, I can put in for the lottery at the New York Marathon. Tell you what, all things being equal, Chicago looks very very tempting...

Today, went back out there and did a 10K (6 miler). I obviously need to do my runs at recovery as my heart rate was way too high.. I should also pick flat ground...